India ranks 148 in the world for the number of women in Parliament, according to a report prepared by Inter-Parliamentary Union and United Nations Women./May 2017
Women MPs in India
Women in India make up about 11.8% of the Lok Sabha and 11% in the Rajya Sabha – while there are 64 of them in the 542-member Lower House, there are 27 women out of the 254 Upper House members.
India fared a little better when it came to women ministers in the Cabinet – ranking 88 – with Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman holding important portfolios. Sumitra Mahajan is the Speaker in the Lok Sabha.
Both Pakistan (ranked 89) and Bangladesh (91) fared better than India on women Parliamentarians. About 20.6% of Pakistan’s MPs are women, while Bangladesh has a 20% representation.
Reservation for Women
A constitutional amendment bill to reserve 33% of seats in Parliament and state legislatures for women was first proposed in 1996.
The Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha in 2010, however, it lapsed when the Lok Sabha ended its term in 2014 without taking it up.
The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016
The Bill was passed by Parliament in 2017.
The Act provides maternity leave up to 12 weeks for all women. The Bill extends this period to 26 weeks. However, a woman with two or more children will be entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave.
The Bill introduces maternity leave up to 12 weeks for a woman who adopts a child below the age of three months, and for commissioning mothers. The period of maternity leave will be calculated from the date the child is handed over to the adoptive or commissioning mother.
The Bill requires every establishment with 50 or more employees to provide for crèche facilities within a prescribed distance. The woman will be allowed four visits to the crèche in a day.
An employer may permit a woman to work from home, if the nature of work assigned permits her to do so. This may be mutually agreed upon by the employer and the woman.
The Bill requires an establishment to inform a woman of all benefits that would be available under the Bill, at the time of her appointment. Such information must be given in writing and electronically.
